Daijiworld Media Network- Melbourne
Melbourne, Sept 5: Seven-time world champions Australia have named their 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 to be held across India and Sri Lanka from October. Alyssa Healy will lead the side, with 10 players from the victorious 2022 campaign retaining their places.
The team will fine-tune preparations with a three-match ODI series against India from September 14 to 20 in Mullanpur and Delhi. Nicole Faltum and Charli Knott will be part of the India series but will return home ahead of the World Cup to join the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL).
Rising stars Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Voll, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, and Kim Garth have been named in their first-ever 50-over World Cup squad. Grace Harris, who was part of the 2022 squad but did not play a match, is set to make her maiden World Cup appearance.
Molineux makes a comeback after recovering from a knee injury that sidelined her last year. While she may miss the India ODIs, she is expected to be fit for the World Cup campaign.
The last edition of the tournament, delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was played in 2022 in New Zealand. This time, the gap between editions has been reduced to three years.
Australia’s World Cup Fixtures:
• Oct 1: v New Zealand, Indore
• Oct 4: v Sri Lanka, Colombo
• Oct 8: v Pakistan, Colombo
• Oct 12: v India, Visakhapatnam
• Oct 16: v Bangladesh, Visakhapatnam
• Oct 22: v England, Indore
• Oct 25: v South Africa, Indore
Australia Squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.
With Healy at the helm and legends like Perry and Mooney providing depth, Australia will be aiming for an unprecedented eighth World Cup crown.